Despite the UK moving into double-dip recession, a report suggests that there has been a healthy upswing in temporary hiring among organisations in the financial services, commerce and industry and public sectors.
The 33% jump in the first quarter of this year compared with the latter quarter of 2011 was caused by businesses shedding permanent staff and taking on more temps, according to temporary recruitment specialist, Venn Group.
It said that the North West of England showed the largest rise in hiring levels, up 61% in the first three months of 2012, while the Midlands and London also had "a healthy start to the year", with increases of 59% and 36% respectively.
Robert Bowyer, Venn’s director, said: "Whilst there is no doubt that the employment market is experiencing turbulent times, in the first quarter of 2012 the temporary market appears to be faring very well. And perhaps what is particularly positive about our report is that it confirms that the impact of the Agency Workers Regulations has had a very limited effect on the use of temporary workers – something feared by many organisations and professionals in recent months."
HR professionals were in particularly strong demand in the public sector as were IT professionals, who were described by Ross Gilder, director of Venn’s public sector IT division, as "a sought after commodity within the NHS", although competition for such roles remained tough.
Meanwhile, the market for financial services professionals was still "mixed," but some areas continued to show healthy, and in fact, increased levels of hiring.
Rates for temporary professionals across both sectors were deemed "impressive", however. Interim day rates in London were the highest, unsurprisingly, with professionals commanding an average of £260 per day, followed closely by the South West of England with an average of £254. While hourly rates in London currently stood at £17, however, they were more like £23 in Central and East England.
